Heavenly Rewards Redux, by David Bower

The Judgment Seat of Christ

Getting to heaven is a strict pass – fail event with those who pass all getting a perfect score. There is no grading on the curve; there is no getting into heaven by the skin of your teeth. If you go to heaven it is because you have, by faith, accepted Christ as your personal Savior; God has imputed to you the perfect righteousness of Christ, you’re as good as it gets; when the Father looks at you He sees the perfection of His Son.

The Judgment Seat of Christ has nothing to do with gaining or losing salvation; it has everything to do with works done while we are in our mortal bodies before death or the Rapture. The only question is whether these works were done under the power of the Holy Spirit to honor God or done in our own power to honor self.

In November of 2011 I published a blog on heavenly rewards; the motivation for this blog was a desire on my part to describe the Judgment Seat of Christ, the Bema, as more a time of rejoicing and celebration than a time of fear, sadness and mourning on the part of many while a few enjoy their rewards for a job done in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In that blog I compared the Bema to the judges stand at a sporting event where competitors are awarded their prizes based on their performance in the arena. In the third paragraph I emphasized the fact that believers will have their resurrection bodies and will have been once and for all delivered from that pestilent scourge known as our old sin nature.

All in the Family

Another key factor is the relationship we’ll all enjoy as brothers and sisters in Christ; we will all be one body of believers who share a sin-free love for our Lord Jesus Christ and each other. There will be a unity of conviction that will be a perfect reflection of the will of our Lord.

It is hard for me to imagine sadness and regret in that scenario as each of us will completely embrace and endorse the will of God. All determinations made by the Lord will echo with us as entirely right and appropriate; rebellious, sinful attitudes and thoughts will no longer be a problem for any of us.

I am convinced that there will be absolutely no touch or shadow of jealousy or envy among any of the brethren. You’ve seen the hilarity on the field and in the stands when the home team wins; the joy and rejoicing on the occasion of the Bema will far exceed anything you will ever see on earth.

Next week, in conclusion, we’ll consider the balance between personal peace on earth and personal peace in heaven.